Heavy-duty vehicles typically include trucks, tractors and trailers. Tractors often pull at least one trailer, and sometimes two or three trailers. The heavy-duty vehicles include axle/suspension systems that have multiple tires each mounted on a respective wheel or rim. Each tire and wheel assembly is inflated with a fluid or gas, such as air, to an operating or desired target pressure. A tire inflation system is often employed to monitor, control and maintain the target pressure in each tire and wheel assembly.
It is known that air may leak from a tire and wheel assembly, sometimes in a gradual manner and sometimes in a rapid manner, such as with a flat tire or a blowout. Any appreciable leak typically may result in an undesirable deflated or under-inflated condition of the tire and wheel assembly from the target pressure for which the tire inflation system may not be able to compensate. Such deflated or under-inflated condition of the tire and wheel assembly may go unnoticed by the operator of the heavy-duty vehicle. This deflated or under-inflated condition may render vehicle ride and handling undesirable to varying degrees. Further, when the tire and wheel assembly is in the deflated or under-inflated condition and the vehicle includes an air-ride axle/suspension system, air pressure typically remains in air springs of the air-ride axle/suspension system. The pressurized air spring may force an axle away from the frame. This may cause the wheel or rim to come into contact with a road or ground surface that can damage or destroy a relatively expensive wheel or rim and maybe the tire in some instances.
There is a need for preventing or minimizing damage to the wheel or rim, for alerting a vehicle driver or operator that an undesirable deflated or under-inflated condition of a tire and wheel assembly exists and render the ride and handling characteristics of the vehicle less undesirable during such condition.